The Right Choices
by Sand-Jounin-Temari
Summary: It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. ShikaTema TemaShika slight ShikaOC OneShot. Rated because I'm paranoid.


Written in the space of ten minutes. It just popped into my head and I wrote it down. No spelling or grammar check has been done. I just wanted it in its raw form if you know what I mean. The spacing may seem off-putting but it was intentional. The story is kind of symbolic, I think. Anyhow, your feedback is appreciated but not demanded :P This is kind of familiar to me and I realised how. "The Other Wife" by Marie Suzette. It's kind of like it but different. Does that make sense?

**The Right Choices**

_It is our choices that show what we truly are,  
Far more than our abilities.  
_

_- Albus Dumbledore.

* * *

_

_"I had a great time, Shikamaru. Thank you for everything," she says, standing at the gateway of the great village hidden in the leaves.  
_

_"Do you have to leave?" he asks, staring at her longingly._

_"You know I do."_

_"If you ever need anything, just give me a call," he says, knowing full well she will never need him. "I love you."_

_"I loved you too."_

-&-

That is the last time he speaks to her for thirty seven years. Thirty seven years of no communication.

He is married now, with two children. A girl and a boy. His daughter is the seventh Hokage and is getting married in the fall while his son has reached Jounin level. His wife; Pale and shy. A civilian with no knowledge of the shinobi world except for the things he has told her.

His wife makes him tea. Sweet. The way he likes it. He thinks it's time that he does something for himself and tells her he would like to go to see _her_ one last time. He has always worked for the good of Konoha, for the good of his family. He loves his wife, he loves his children, and he loves his village.

-&-

He travels the three days to Sunagakure No Sato, through the River Country until he finds himself in the barren wasteland that it her home. His wife doesn't like her. This is understandable. He used to talk about her all the time until an argument ensued and he learned to keep his mouth shut.

He is welcomed at the gate by a Chunin and Shikamaru doesn't have the heart to tell him to quit now before things become complicated. Shinobi life is not for the faint of heart and unfortunately, the Nara clan tends to have faint hearts.

-&-

The sixth Kazekage is her son. He is as dark as his mother with the same eyes. Dark brown hair is the only trait that differs from her. His jaw line is shaped differently. More angular than her own.

She is waiting for him at the Kazekage manor, the place where she takes residence. Gaara is dead and Kankurou is dead, she having outlived both. She is older now but still has the air of toughness about her. She does not let her guard down, even though it is _him_ and she has loved him in the past but has made herself let go.

She is married now, with two children. A boy and a girl. Her son is getting married in the summer and her daughter has reached Jounin level. Her husband; loud and active. A shinobi with vast knowledge of their world.

He sits down on the offered sofa and she makes him tea. Spicy. The way he likes it. They talk about trivial things like the increased rate of imported goods. They do not talk about what they had, what could have been. Before he leaves, he asks, because it has been plaguing his mind since that day;

"Do you ever think about me?"

She doesn't skip a beat. "Never," and he knows she is lying.

She smiles for him, one last time and he knows that she is doing this to help him. If he knew she thought about him every morning she awoke and every night she went to sleep, he would stay in Sunagakure without a second thought.

She does not want that.

She is relatively happy, with a man she loves and two beautiful children. She does not tell Shikamaru that he has another son who has been born and raised in this village. It would kill him inside to know that he has another child, one that she raised herself. So she lies, something she has become quite good at these days.

Her son is curious. Suspicious. He does not look like his "father". He sees the Hokage on a regular basis. There are certain similarities and he can't help but compare. He does not know that she is his half-sister, nor does he know he has a half-brother.

-&-

The sun is setting when he leaves through the gates of Suna and she watches him fade into the landscape, the horizon swallowing him whole. She turns her back on the gates. He has saved her a three day trip. Her son needs her, her daughter needs her, her husband needs her and her village needs her. She knows she has made the right choices.

Shikamaru doesn't look back. It is true; she has given him piece of mind. He will return to his family, his village. He knows she made the right choices. If it had been his to make, he would have stayed and loved her with his every fibre. His wife understands when he returns home. She makes him tea. Sweet. The way he likes it. He does not say a word when they go to bed. He does not say a word to his children about his absence. Instead, he continues living his life the way he had planned.

-&-

When Shikamaru dies, the wind howls with grief and longing and the shadows stretch across the village, through the trees, trying to reach its destination.

* * *

_I give complete credit to Temamaru for the last line. I read it in her fiction "Crimson Clouds" and my bottom lip started quivering! It's so beautiful, check it out! It can be found in my favourites list. Thanks for reading!_


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